Former Meta executive Nick Clegg has claimed that requiring tech companies to ask permission before using copyrighted work to train AI systems is unworkable and would destroy the AI industry in the UK.
The Times of London reports that in a recent interview, Sir Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister who spent nearly seven years working for social media giant Meta, weighed in on the heated debate over AI copyright laws. His comments came as MPs voted against proposals that would have allowed copyright holders to see when their work has been used to train AI systems and by whom.
Many leading figures in the UK’s creative industries, including music legends Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney, have been urging the government not to change copyright laws in favor of big tech companies. They warn that the proposed plans risk destroying the livelihoods of the 2.5 million people employed in the nation’s creative sector.
However, Clegg argued that the demands from artists to require tech companies to ask permission before using copyrighted material are unworkable and “implausible.” He pointed out that AI systems are already training on vast amounts of data that is publicly available. “It’s out there already,” he stated.
Speaking at the Charleston Festival in East Sussex, Clegg claimed that artificial intelligence is already capable of “creating” its own art, such as poems, stories, and pictures. While he acknowledged that it seems reasonable from a “natural justice” perspective to allow artists to opt out of having their work used to train AI models, he believes the creative community wants to go a step further by requiring prior permission.
“I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work,” Clegg said. “And by the way if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight.”
Clegg, who recently stepped down from his role as president of global affairs at Meta, suggested that people should have clear and easy ways to opt out of having their content used. However, he views the idea of the AI industry having to preemptively ask permission as something that “collides with the physics of the technology itself.”
Read more at the Times of London here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
